2019 Updated: How to solve supplier quality problem? What QC is the best QC？

The most common complaints about doing business are probably products quality. Whether the product quality or packaging problem. And the most amazing thing is that you never know what problems the factory will give you. Maybe today is the raw material, tomorrow is the semi-finished product, the day after tomorrow is the packaging… It is absolutely ever-changing and shocking.

No.1: Summarize the quality headache most commonly with China exporter

If you run into a boss who will shirk all responsibility to the salesman, it will be even worse!

But finally, you found the quality of the stamping parts is very poor after 2 months waited when all these stamping parts arrived at your location.

You may be angry and said:

“What did you(salesman) doing, you don’t know to go to the factory and inspect the quality of the goods?”

He(salesman) may think in heart: How it possible that I check the goods one box by one?

Or you found the stamping parts raw materials was wrong(after all products have been finished).

You began words again:

“Why didn’t you find out the problem? Why not keep following up the order?”

No.2: dissection what reasons result in these supplier quality problems – Chapter 01?

Maybe your salesman just a beautiful girl, and she is discussing with you on Skype or Whatsapp frequently. In fact, she may just graduates from university 2 years ago and does not know how her factory produced these products. Or all she got an answer by asking an engineer or manager.

Mostly they will think like: -All the problems with your raw materials are my wrong? Do you want me to stay in the factory all the time? Why not change the factory manager and let me take place?

No.4. If there any way to solve these quality problems?

If there any way to solve these problems? -Of course, even the best quality control will inevitably lead to some problems. But our requirements may not so high, and occasionally some small problem can be acceptable.

So, we will have a good chat about quality control QC today.

QC, is quality control. In the impression of most China trading companies and factories, it may only mean inspection: After order was finished 80% before packing of the goods, then a random inspection is carried out (according to the sampling basis and the standard to make a whole batch of goods), Usually we call AQL1.5/4.0 is such a sampling standard.

The following figure is a standard Table of AQL:

Use the first sampling plan below the arrow. If sample size equals or exceeds lot or batch size, do 100% inspection.

No.5 Except for ISO 9001 certification, the China factory how to control product quality in reality

In fact, in the actual operation process, whether it is a China trading company or a factory, and whether a customer or a third-party inspection company, it is difficult to strictly follow such a standard inspection standard. This means that to do such quality control inspection most times is not validation.

What reasons?

You will say: every China factory or trading company are confirmed with you they will strictly check the goods dimensions 100% according to AQL1.5/4.0 and ISO9001 certification.

Strictly speaking, AQL 1.5/4.0 must be based on the randomization of all goods. However, when actually inspect the goods, we will find that the place and the goods are stacked often only allow us to check the upper of the surface. It is means: only the goods which stacked on the racks can be controlled.

Maybe you still not believe me what I said, please see the following pictures:(you can only check the top floor goods rather than those in the center or bottom)

These pictures are roughly described most of China factories how they stocked their parts today.

No.5.1 Why you can’t check the inside boxes?

no one will help you remove the upper and outer boxes.

no place for you to put the box moved down.

This means that we don’t have enough checking numbers to guarantee the validity of this checking report. So, for importers who hope to ensure quality control and shipment safety through this method, you can give up!

No.5.2 So, how to do a good QC for production?

Let’s first set aside the definition of ISO. And recall how our quality control is:

Probably every China salesman has been suffered quality complaints.

When the customer send a complaint to a China factory or Trader, although your China supplier will clearly reply you, and observe the requirements of your drawings and strengthen the prevention, even filled the 8D report as you asked. But after a few months, the problem happened again. What the fact?

No.5.3 Most of them are going through the game for QC.

Where are the quality problems: The production factory and the sales manager are always disputed with each other? Even many factories will say to your representative (China trading company) “you have already checked the goods before shipment, how do you blame me for quality problems?” In other words, even if the factory acknowledges the quality problem, it is impossible to replace your bad parts which have arrived at your location.

No.5.5 In the reply, most of your China factory or trading company are like this:

Probably the workers picked the wrong one

Probably the machine is not adjusted

Probably the packaging worker was careless to see

Probably negligent when testing

……

Some better China trader or factory even after making compensation, replenishment or various amendments, but many of them also still have problems of one kind or another next time.

No.5.6 What makes our quality control so bad?

In addition to human beings not paying attention to it, we have not established a complete quality control system in the company and the factory. The so-called ISO9001 AND IATF certificates are just a piece of waste paper which made by the surface work.

This is also the specific performance of many China factories that lack overall responsibility. Maybe not only China factories or trading companies have this performance, maybe all countries have same problems.

No.6 Summary of the quality problem reasons with manufactures

It is not easy for a salesman to make an order, find a customer, fight for a price, and fight for a machine.

However, many salesmen spent 50%-70% of their time to manage their China factory or trading companies QC problems, handling various complaints and supervising the quality of the production line. This is obviously a waste of energy and time.

The true QC is the entire production process from the raw material income to final finished product inspection and goods delivery. For a company, it is not difficult to establish a system of quality management.

But why this is still a long-term heart disease for China factories and traders? The reason is very simple -No responsibility: As long as there has money to earn, they will dare to produce and sell, and care little about the safety of consumers. In addition, the legal system is not perfect, there will always be opportunities for them to find holes.

Everyone knows that the inspection of beef in the United States is very strict. I remembered that there was a TV show called “food factory”:

Whether American beef is made into other foods or fresh beef in the supermarket, it can be traced directly to the time when the little cowboy was born. When the little cowboy was born, he will be labeled with an electronic label after quarantined. The little cowboy’s dad and mom’s info will also record, including how to raise, whether have been vaccinated, whether they are sick or not. Before put them into the slaughter house, the entire information will be got from the label. At the time of the acquisition, professional personnel is hired to check whether the cow meets the food standard.

The slaughter house will be sampled and tested after the slaughter. After the testing passed the standard, then it can be sent to the split line for the division. The package also should be tested whether reasonable and the storage if proper. According to the standard, the meat temperature must be kept from 0℃ to 5℃ to ensure the freshness and to avoid the possibility of deterioration. When it comes to the next step, both transportation and reception need to be inspected at any time. The product can be sold only if the inspection is acceptable.

If consumers encounter product quality problems, they can use electronic information to investigate specific problems, obtain huge compensation and correct them to avoid more problems.

We just have detail explained why your China supplier quality problem happened again and again, and take an example of China stamping factory to describe the problem, and how an American “food factory” control the quality.

Following is the 7 ultimate quality control methods for machinery industries.

No.1 Operational standard

Material purchase Material checking result Production arrangement ration Production condition Package standard Storage condition All these should be had a whole standard and traceability

No.2 Tracking quality inspection during the whole production flow

Quality control is spread throughout the entire production flow process, random inspection the quality, and manager should checking the report timely.

No.3. Effective production line tracking

Material income batch number, checker, inspection standard, production line batch number, production manager, packaging materials, standards, all data should be put into the database. The product can be effectively tracked, and even if there is a problem, it can quickly know where the problem is and who should take responsibility for it.

Simple? Yes, it is very simple.

Really implemented can also see the effectiveness immediately. Nothing is neededbut a sense of responsibility of a company from top to bottom. Therefore, this blog is not for the salesman to see, the bosses and importers who plan to purchase from China factory or trading company are worth looking at.

No. 4 Specific QC tools:

No.4.1 Product data card

The raw materials, the specifications of the products, the types of materials used, the processing techniques, the packaging requirements, and the tolerance values are all recorded and made into product cards. The sample of the material also needs to be sampled and stored. When the product is produced or the raw materials are received, the product or raw material can be compared to meet the requirements.

Many China factories rely on skilled workers and are difficult to be replaced. With such a product card method, the ratios and environmental impact differences are recorded. Even for novices, there are places to query, so that they can learn from them.

No.4.2 Operating standard book

A production process requires operational procedures, packaging sequences and precautions, and so on.

The workers in each process are trained and operated in strict accordance with the operating standards. In this way, the products produced by the workers will not be too different, and the quality of the products can be controlled.

No.4.3 Database

There is a corresponding number record for the raw materials from the beginning of putting the material into the warehouse. When a product is produced, the supplier of the material can be found according to such number. All the circumstances are clear: the time of entering the factory, acceptance time, acceptance result, production line number, production worker information, packaging worker information, inspection worker information, and the information of the person who in charge of acceptance.

If there is a problem in the future, it is simple and convenient to follow the number to find out which step has gone wrong.

Take an example: Based on these data numbers, it is easy to trace the problem.

If a batch of goods is one hundred boxes for stamping parts or CNC machining parts which you imported from China, of which 22 cases have product problems and ten boxes have packaging problems, then it can be inferred that the whole batch of raw materials of stamping parts or CNC machining parts have the same number, the product lines are the same, the workers are different, the packing workers are different, then the raw materials of the whole batch of stamping parts and CNC machining parts are same, the production machines are same, the other is no problem, naturally it is the problem of the workers. And so on,

If the raw material numbers of the stamping parts and CNC machining parts are different, then the stamping parts and CNC machining parts materials that are just in question;

If the product line is different, but there is no problem with other products on the product line, then it may not be a product line problem;

If the stamping parts and CNC machining parts packaging problem is only in the hands of a worker, then it may be a worker problem…

PS: Some well-prepared warehousing will be sampled and retained for searching during the acceptance of the material incoming, which means that in addition to the data record, there will be samples.

No.5 Production machinery equipment maintenance record

As with the product operation book, how to analyze the problem of the mechanical problem, how to solve it, how to solve the record. For many small factories, they do not have a special mechanic engineer, because the wages of the mechanical engineer is not affordable. The data recorded in this way does not need to rely on the mechanic engineer when similar problems happen.

No.6 Independent laboratory / inspector

As to whether the raw material sand finished products meet the standards (Example: China Metal stamping parts and CNC machining parts), a simple and easy inspection method must have for this kind of metal stamping parts and CNC machining parts, so that the quality inspectors can rely on this standard to test and judge whether the product materials meet the requirements.

No.7 Warehouse production daily record

Record the environmental conditions of the warehouse production, such as date, climate, temperature, humidity, etc., and record the daily mechanical configuration data. In order to investigate the problem, you can check the manual product card and the material allocation or the configuration of the machine does not meet the standard.

When the raw material incoming, which manufacturer provided it, these factors must be recorded: whiteness, hardness, which can be judged by standard paper samples, or by simple physical tests, such as stiffness, taking the same area. Test whether it can bear the same weight after folding in different directions.

In this way, the entire production has a strict inspection, production in accordance with the standard, acceptance of packaging and shipment, the error rate will be minimized. Moreover, if the customer complains in the future because the entire database is recorded, it can be known which products of the order number should be tracked, which production lines, and which data.

Quality management system is not a problem, you should have correct attitude:

Quality control is never difficult, but as a boss, you should push the concept and responsibility of QC be implemented throughout the company; the real barrier is your China factories and trader which did not concentrate on it about the strict quality control.

No matter of stamping parts or CNC machining parts, although you are major in other industries, lack of responsibility is in vain.

Of course, the above is just a simple and easy way of operation. More details and more methods require the bosses of your China factories or trading companies to study hard and make changes according to the actual situation.

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